Below please find a collection of assay images, documents, and brief
descriptions of various Utah mining, milling, and assay operations. This collection includes company reports, receipts, transportation
records, weight and moisture statements, and other documents related to the value of ore being drawn from Utah's many mining
districts. These documents span from the earliest days in the 1870's to well beyond the 1930's.
It must be noted that this is in no way a complete list of Assay businesses or providers. The list will expand
as more documents are located and more profiles written. Thank You!
Assay works of the Ontario Mine, Park City, Utah. Shippler Photo.
Courtesy Utah State Historical Society
American Cyanide Gold and Silver Recovery
Company (Denver, Colorado)
Below are two certificates from the American
Cyanide Gold and Silver Recovery Company of Denver, Colorado. The certificates shows results of $37.60 per ton in Gold values
on the first one and $11.80 per ton on the second. The samples are named, but this may or may not be the name of the mining
property. Both certificates date from 1897 and were processed for Utah mining man J. E. Bamberger.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Anderson
& Foote, Assayers
One of the early assay offices in Utah was that
of partners James Anderson and Franke Foote. According to a front page ad in the April 16th, 1875 edition of the Salt Lake
Daily Tribune, the company operated from offices at "99 Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, one door north of Walker Brothers".
No documents from this firm are yet known.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Arthur, John - Assay Office (Sumpter, Oregon)
Though not a Utah company, this certificate
from the offices of Assayer John Arthur in Sumpter, Oregon has a Utah tie. The samples tested came from mining properties
owned in part by Utah mining men. This certificate dates from July 31, 1899 and is hand signed by Mr. Arthur.
THRP Archive - Winegar Collection
Belding,
W.F., Assayer
In 1873, according to an ad placed in the August
1st issue of the Salt Lake Herald, W.F. Belding operated his assay works from a small room in the rear of the Western Union
telegraph offices in downtown Salt Lake City.
No
documents from this firm are yet known.
Bettles,
Mathez & Co., Assayers
In 1909, Bettles, Mathez & Co., operated
from offices and laboratory at 158 South, West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. A Mr. A.F. Bardwell managed
the offices, and though an advertisement mentioned telephones, no number was given. Ooops! As of yet, we have been unable
to locate any assay reports or documents for this firm.
Bingham
Copper & Gold Mining Company, Assay
Below are two examples of assay statements issued
by the Bingham Gold & Copper Mining Company for two ore lot purchased from the Alaska Mining Company near Silver City
in the Tintic District. The certificates also detail the weight & moisture measurements for the lots.
Both certificates date from 1901.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Bird, Frank A., Assayor (Park City, Utah)
Below are three documents from Frank A. Bird,
Assayor based in Park City, Utah at the time these various items were issued. The items include letterhead with a hand written
note dating from 1899, a hand written page, and related assay certificate (front and back enlarged) of a second unrelated
lot. These last two item date from 1902. All documents relate to concentrates that Mr. Bird is shopping around to smelters
to bid on.
This is the only
letterhead and certificate I have ever found relating to Mr. Bird when he was working solo, before he partnered with Mr. Cowen.
Bird-Cowen
Co., Assayers
Bird-Cowen Company, Assayers, was a partnership
of Frank A. Bird and Charles B. Cowen, custom assayers and chemists. In 1907 they operated from offices at 100 South West
Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City. In addition to assay and chemist services, according to one advertisement, they
also acted as "Agents for Ore Shippers". As of yet, we have been unable to locate any assay reports or documents
for this firm.
Dr.
F. M. Bishop, Assayer
One of Utah's early assay offices, in July of
1887, F.M. Bishop operated from an office and laboratory on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City. By 1896 Bishop had operated
for some 20 years and the offices and laboratory had moved to 52 West, 200 South. Bishop provided complete assay services
for all types of ores, with "Mill Tests a Specialty" according to one advertisement.
The two documents shown below include the Certificate of Assay for a sample of ore received
from the Joab Lawrence Mining Company, Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons, Utah, and the Statement/Receipt issued for the
processing of this same lot.
The sample,
as you can see on the first form, the Certificate of Assay dated July 13, 1887, Showed that the sampled lot, Lot #205, contained
no copper, 17.1% Iron, 39% lead, 62.70 ozs. of silver per ton, and a small amount of gold, just .050 ozs. per ton. This lot,
while not a bonanza, was a still a very good quality ore. For sampling this lot, a fee of $3.00 was charged. The Certificate
of Assay is signed very ornately by Dr. Bishop himself.
As shown in the second document, the statement/receipt. The $3.00 fee was paid in full the same day the Assay
report was prepared. It too, is dated July 13, 1887. This document is signed as well, but not by Bishop, rather by H.W. Greene(?),
most likely an employee, a bookkeeper perhaps, but that is not known for certain.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
At a recent antiques show, I found yet another certificate from F.M.
Bishop. This one the earliest one discovered thus far. It dates from 1885 and Is issued to W.W. Chisholm, a prominent mining
man of Utah. The mine is not named, but most likely is from the Tintic District and shows a whopping 45.20 ounces of silver
to the ton!.
Black
& Deason, Assayers & Chemists
In 1943, Black & Deason, operated from offices
and laboratory at 165 South, West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. This report is from Lot #166-M from the
New Park Mining Company, Keetley, Utah, dated September 9, 1943. Charge for the works, $3.00. The certificate is signed by
B. W. Deason.
This assay certificate
is an Umpire Certificate. Called such because by the 1940'2 most larger mining operation operated their own assay offices.
They would find a given value for the ore. The smelter or mill processing the ore would also run their own assays. If there
was a difference in the two values, then a sample of the same ore would be sent to a third party, an "Umpire". The
Umpire assay would then determine the lot value, and the lot would then be set at that value.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Braun, F. W. & Company, Assay
Supplies
(Los
Angeles, California)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Bullion
Beck and Champion Mining Co., Assay Office
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Callahan,
M.B., Company, Assay & Mining Supplies
Every assay office in the territory needed supplies,
one company providing all the nesessary tools of the trade was M.B. Callahan Company. According to the ad shown below from
page four of the April 16th, 1875 edition of the Salt Lake Daily Tribune, Callahan provided all manner of material from
furnaces and crucibles, to "WILLIAM SCHMOLZ'S CELIBRATED ASSAY BALANCES". No address is listed.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Conklin
Sampling Works
The Conklin Sampling Works was one of many Assay businesses in Utah, but it was one of the
oldest. Possibly the second oldest. Processing ore from locations all over the state. Starting small, but steadily growing
in size and capacity, by 1895 the Conklin could handle from 50 to 60 thousand tons of material annually. This first image
is that of an advertisement in the April 15, 1899 Salt Lake Mining Review. The ad listed C. B. Markland as Manager, and offices
were located in room 203 Atlas Block.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The Conklin Sampling Works was one of many Assay
businesses in Utah, but it was one of the oldest. Possibly the second oldest. Processing ore from locations all over the state.
Starting small, but steadily growing in size and capacity, by 1895 the Conklin could handle from 50 to 60 thousand tons of
material annually.
In the document
sample below we have a Weight And Moisture certificate. This document recorded, by sampling, the amount of moisture present
within a given lot or car of ore. Moisture content had to be known as it was one of the factors in determining the value of
any given lot.
Certificate #938,
shows results for Lot #947 from the Mammoth Mine in Mammoth, Utah, Tintic Mining District, Utah. Ore from this lot was contained
in 5 cars with a total gross weight of ore of 223,410 pounds, selected sampling showed a 5% moisture content, leaving 212,239
pounds of dry weight ore. This lot was sampled and reported August 28, 1889.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This next Conkin item is an invoice or billhead issued to the Alaska Mining Company for the
sampling of Lot#31 and the assay fees of both the Union Assay Office and J.W. Currie. The Sampling fee was $11.74, and the
two assay fees of $3.00 each. Total bill $17.74. The bill is dated August 11th, 1902.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
C.S.
Cowen Assay Office
In 1943, C.S. Cowen or Dean & Nichols as
the slip has stamped, operated from office and labs at 160 South on West Temple. This certificate is signed by the Manager
C. Ivan Nichols. Like the Black & Deason certificate above, this certificate was an "Umpire" assay.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Crismon
& Nichols Assayers and Chemists
In 1911, Crismon & Nichols Assayers
and Chemists operated from an office and laboratory at 219 S. West Temple Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. Partners C.C. Crismon
and F.J. Nichols provided cyanide concentration, amalgamation and complete assay of ores.
The two documents shown below include the Certificate of Assay for one sample of ore received
from the Big Cottonwood Consolidated Mining Company, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and the Statement issued for the processing
of this same lot.
The sample,
as you can see on the first form, the Certificate of Assay dated June 24, 1911, did not contain ore of any real value, only
trace amounts of gold and silver with no values in lead. Certainly a disappointment for the owners and stockholders of the
mine, but not so for the assayers. Values or not, the assayers always made money. For this lot, a fee of $1.00 was charged,
as shown in the second document, the statement. As you can also see, the assayers always got paid! The statement, dated
June 30, 1911, was paid in full just 10 days later on July 10, 1911, a prompt and timely payment.
| CHRISMON & NICHOLS ASSAY CERTIFICATE |
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THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
| CRISMON & NICHOLS ASSAY STATEMENT |
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THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Below are two samples of a third style Crismon
& Nichols Certificate of Assay. These two prepared for samples submitted from the Copperopolis Mining Company at Gold
Hill, Utah.
These samples
date from 1916.
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
This certificate is from a much later period in the history of the
company. Dated September 15, 1943, this certificate shows results for the Lot #169-M. By this time the company offices had
moved as well, now being located at 229-231 South on West Temple.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
J.W.
Currie, Assayer
One of the lesser known assay services in Utah
was that of J.W. Currie. With offices at 70 West 300 South in downtown Salt Lake City. Like other providers of the day, Currie
sampled ore from all over the state. An advertisement from 1907 stated, "Gold melted, Assayed and Purchased, Mail orders
receive prompt attention." The ad also listed the businesses telephone number, "1501 Z". Very few items from
this assay provider are known.
The tag shown
below references Lot #933, a lot representing more than 285,000 pounds of ore from the famous Mammoth mine in the Tintic District,
Juab County, Utah. The lot was submitted from the Taylor & Brunton Sampling Mill on August 9th, 1899.
The lot sampled out at .95 Ozs. of gold per ton, or in this case over 135 ounces of gold. At
a value then of roughly $20 per Ounce, that lot of ore, if true to the assay, would be worth over $2,700.00 just in gold values
alone!
The tag is signed by J.W. Currie,
and the charges for his services, $3.00.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This second Currie item, a larger Certificate of Assay shows results
of samples taken at the Utah Gold Company property near Kelton, Utah. As you can see from the document, showings were not
great. The document is signed by Currie and dates from 1913 despite having been printed in the 1890's.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This third item is a statement for assaying services. It is issued
to Clarence Bamburger. Most likely for work on ore samples from the Daly West Mining Company. The fee of $6.00 is shown as
paid and is signed by Currie or possibly for him by someone in the office. (Note the S below the signature) The statement
dates from 1912.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This next Currie item is an assay certificate issued to Clarence Banberger for samples on
the Aspen Lease. The certificate shows values in Zinc, Lead, Silver and trace amounts of Gold. The certificate is hand signed
by Mr. Currie and dates from June of 1913.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Currie,
J.W. & Company, Assayers
Below are two samples from J.W. Currie &
Company, a later incorporated version of the earlier Currie companies. Both are prepared for samples from the Copperopolis
Mining Company of Gold Hill, Utah. None of the samples tested show anything of real value, barely trace amounts of gold and
silver and some lead, most likely not enough to cover the cost of the assays.
These certificates date from 1916.
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
Daly West Mining Company, Assay & Settlement
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This next Daly West item is a very detailed
Assay Certificate prepared for samples from Mr. Dyke Keely of Massachusetts. The certificate is signed by Assayer John Wycoff
and dates from April of 1906.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Ellis,
Henry Rives, Assayer, Engineer & Metallurgist
This certificate is from Henry Rivas Ellis, Assayer, Engineer, and
Metallurgist who operated from offices at 217 South West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City. The certificate was prepared
showing results of eight separate lots or samples from the Alaska mine in the Tintic District. The certificate is hand signed
by Mr. Ellis and dates from June of 1902.
Certificates
from Ellis are rare, and few samples are known.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Dr.
Frank Foote, Assayer
One of the earlier assay service providers in
Utah was that of Dr. Frank Foote. Operating from offices at 139 and 153 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Foote sampled lots
from a number of mines and mills including the Pioneer Mill from which this sample was taken.
The documents shown below include the Certificate of Assay for a sample of ore (Lot #205)
received at the Pioneer Mill from the Joab Lawrence Mining Company, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and the Statement issued
by Foote for processing the same.
The
sample, as you can see on the Certificate of Assay, is dated July 13th, 1887, and showed good quality ore. Not only 38.8%
Lead, but also 62 Oz. of silver to the ton, and though small, it also showed .030 Oz. Gold per ton. Not a great sample, but
not bad either.
Also, noting
from the Certificate of Assay, this small sample represents more than 9000 pounds of ore sent in Lot #205. If the assay values
did in fact hold true, then this one lot of ore would have contained 3,535 pounds of Lead, 282 Oz. of Silver, and just over
1/10 of an Oz. of Gold. Values like that would certainly help pay the bills. Speaking of bills, fees charged for assaying
ore varied depending on the quality or "class" of the ore. "1st Class" ore such as this commanded a $3.00
fee, which back in 1887 was quite a sum of money!
| FRANK FOOTE ASSAY CERTIFICATE |
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THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The certificate is signed at the bottom with the name "Frank Foote", but not by Frank Foote. The document
is signed in his name per "Currie". While it cannot be proven, I am certain that the Currie name written
on the slip is most likely that of J.W. Currie (profiled earlier). He was operating his own assay service by 1899, but in
1887, he was reported to be working for Foote, most likely learning the trade and honing his skills.
| FRANK FOOTE ASSAY CERTIFICATE |
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THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
While the signature on the Certificate of Assay is not Foote's, the signature on the Statement is. Early Utah
mining documents such as these are very rare and prized by collectors. Those with "real" or "original"
signatures are prized most of all. While there may be more, only 2 Certificates of Assay and 2 Statements are known to the
author.
Both documents
are printed with different but very nice custom letterhead.
Though not issued by the offices of Frank Foote, we also have in this archive the Payment slip from the Joab
Lawrence Mining Company to Mr. Louis Neely. The payment accompanying this document to pay in full the charges of "carting"
or transporting the ore of "Lot #205" that made its way from mine to sampling house.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The lot consisted of 35,300 pounds or 17.65 tons of 2nd class ore. The cos of moving this
ore, 75 cents per ton, or a total of $13.25. The slip is marked as paid to L. Neely. by Chas. Read.
Fitzpatrick & Lewis, Assayers
(Butte, Montana)
While most Utah mining companies used assay
offices local to the operations, it was not uncommon to send samples out of state for analyses. In this case we have a sample
from Utah processed by Fitzpatrick & Lewis, Assayers of Butte, Montana. The certificate dates from 1903.
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
Gerber, Joseph, Assayer (Silver City, Utah)
Below is a Assay certificate from the office of Joseph Gerber. Gerber
was the Chief Assay Officer at the Mammoth mine in Mammoth, Utah. His offices not only tested samples from that mine, but
from a number of surrounding properties as well. His offices away from the mine were located in Silver City, Utah, just a
few miles southwest.
This certificate, from the Larker Mining Co.(?)
was tested on March 21, 1900. It shows little value in gold, a bit of copper, and a rather nice showings of silver. The certificate
is not signed by Gerber, but George Paxman another assayer of note in Utah.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Geyser
Marion Gold Mining Co., Assay Settlement Slip
The Geyser Marion Gold Mining Company was a
company formed very late in the Mercur mining period. A joining of the Geyser Mining Company and the Marion Mining Company,
the operation worked both those properties and more.
This slip, probably more than any other, shows the real story how how difficult it could be to make money mining
lesser grade ores in the early 1940's.
Slip
#2069 is dated October 17, 1940, and details a lot of 55.59 tons of milling and tailings from the Geyser Marion Company. It
has been assayed at $3.30 per ton leaving an estimated value of the lot and credit at $183.45. From that credit would come
the many deductions for processing the material. Deduction for processing millings, $73.38. Deduction for processing tailings,
$55.03. Decuction for 15% royalty to Silver Lode, $4.09. Deduction for hauling ore, $27.79. Total deductions, $160.29.
This meant that a lot of ore, 55 tons of it, valued at $183.45, after deducting all the costs
of processing that ore, netted the mining company a check for $23.16.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Hanauer
Smelting Works
In a continuation of the lot detailed earlier
in the F.M. Bishop profile, we now see that Lot #205, after being sampled by both Bishop and Frank Foote, the lot was purchased
and processed by the Hanauer Smelting Works of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The document below, dated July 14th, 1887, details the settlement or value of the ore purchased
from the Joab Lawrence Mining Company. It also details the fees and charges paid to other in the handling and processing of
the lot.
The average of
the two separate assays was used in calculating the total lot, and when all was said and done, after paying the freight fees,
assay fees, cartage fees, and royalties to the Emma Mining Company, totaling $112.60, this lot of 34,363 pounds of ore netted
the Joab Lawrence Mining Company $1,004.20. Not a bad payday for 1887! Even more impressive is the fact that this was considered
"2nd Class Ore", as noted on the Statement.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Hare,
A.W., Chemist and Assayer
Below is an Assay Certificate from A.W. Hare,
a noted Chemist and Assayer of Aspen, Colorado. It was not uncomon for individuals in Utah to receive assays for out of state,
as investigations into properties all over the west were undertaken by prominent mining men in Utah.
This rare sample is hand signed by Mr. Hare and dates from 1913.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
George
T. Henry, Assayer
In 1898, George T. Henry operated a Assay Office
in Marysvale, Utah. This ad, from the Piute Pioneer newspaper, shows Mr. Henry was not only an Assayer, but a Surveyor for
Piute County as well.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
W.
A. Hodges, Assayer
W. A. Hodges, Assayer, had offices and laboratory
at 135 West, 200 South, in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. As with others in his profession, he advertised in newspapers and
other printed publications of the day. Advertisments where he assured any potential customers, "Price Lists and Envelopes
Furnished on Application. Samples by mail promptly attended to." I don't know about the rates, or the promptness
of his service, but he did have customers!
Below
please find a W. A. Hodges Certificate of Assay, dated January 17th, 1899. The certificate showing results for the sampling
of Lot #143 from the Mammoth Mining Company, Mammoth, Utah, Tintic district, Juab County, Utah. The representative sampling
showed: 4.3% Lead, 44.2 Ocs. Silver, and .80 Ozs. Gold. The samples were taken at the Taylor & Brunton Sampling Mill,
from 4266 pounds of dry concentrates.
The
certificate is signed at the bottom by Hodges personally.
It is worth noting also, that not only did Hodges have customers, he had family. By 1908 he was running ads in
the Salt Lake Herald listing the company name as "W. A. Hodges & Sons, Assayers." Though the company
name changed, the address did not. In 1908 they were still operating from the same offices on 2nd South.
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Horn
Silver Mine, Assay Office
Like many other mining companies in Utah, the
famous Horn Silver Mine at Frisco, Utah had a complete and well equipped assay office near the mine. In the sample shown below,
we see a Certificate of Assay from a period later in the life of the mine. Long after the millions had been made, and the
original mine workings caver-in, this certificate was issued when the mine was re-opened, and being worked on a daily basis
with a result far less grand than that of the "Good old days".
The certificate is dated August 23rd, 1901, and is addressed to mr. P. T. Farnsworth, one
of the mine owners. The certificate details the values and is signed by the Assayer, Jno. A Hillstead(?).
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Innis, Homer C., Assayer
(Baker City, Oregon)
Though he is not a Utah based assayer,
I include this certificate from Homer C. Innis, as he provided services to a number of Utah mining men who had intrests in
the Baker City, Oregon area. This certificate shows results of samples pulled from Gold Ridge Mill tailings. The certificate
dates from the early 1900's, and is hand signed by Mr. Innis.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Jehu, N.W., Assayer (San
Francisco, California)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Knight
Investment Co., Assay Office
The Knight Investment Company, was owned by
famous Utah mining man Jesse Knight, and operated one of it's offices in Silver City, Utah. The company was formed to manage
not only the Knight properties which were extensive, but also to service the multitude of other propertied and prospects in
the area. Those services, among others, included assay work.
Below is a Certificate of Assay for this company detailing the results of examination on a lot of ore consigned
by C. W. Reese on behalf of the Utah-Yerington Mining Company. The certificate is dated April 5th, 1917. The lot consisted
of five separate samples ranging in values and percentages of Gold, Silver, Copper, and Lead.
One thing that is unique about the many assay certificates in our collection, this one lists
the approximate value of the lots in the Salt Lake City market. Sample 1 @ $85.00, Sample 2 @ $62.00, Sample 3 @ $90.00, and
Sample 4 @ $100.00.
The assay was
conducted and the certificate signed by William Werrett Jr.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Dr.
R. Mackintosh, Assayer
Dr. R. Mackintosh, Assayer, was one of the main
operators of the Pioneer Ore Sampling Mill and Assay Office at Sandy Station, Utah. The document shown below dated July 11th,
1887, is another of the Joab Lawrence Mining Company's Lot #205 archive.
This document, Macintosh's letterhead, details the charges for sampling and shipping the
the 36,020 pounds of ore. This bill, totaling $84.75 is marked as "PAID" and signed R.Mackintosh by "P.H."
Just who this P.H. is, is not known, but if we find out, we'll update the profile.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Macintosh had offices in Salt Lake City but
operated from a sampling house in Park City near the Union Pacific depot.
Mammoth
Mining Co., Assay Office
One of the most complete Assay archives to come
into the possession of the TREASURE HOUSE RELICS PROJECT is that of the Mammoth Mining Company, Mammoth, Utah, Tintic District,
for the year of 1899. Hundreds of documents detail the mining activity of this period. Three of those documents are shown
below. All three trace one lot of concentrates, Lot #143, from mine to mill.
The Mammoth Mining Company, like many Utah mines, operated it's own private assay offices,
this one at Robinson, Utah. This first document, dated January 10th, 1899 shows the preliminary Assay results of Lot #143
at: .66 Ozs. of Gold, 41.8 Ozs. of Silver, 4.5% Lead, and 3% Copper. With a lot weight of over 42,000 pounds, this would translate
into quite a bit of money in 1899 dollars. Lot #143 is listed as dry concentrates, and was scheduled to be shipped by rail
via the Oregon Short Line R.R.. The Certificate of Assay is signed by Assayer J. E. Robbins.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The second document in this group shows the "Report of Shipments from Mine or Mill." of the Mammoth
ore Lot #143. Dated January 13th, 1899, the lot of dry concentrates was consigned to the company of Bamburger & McMillian,
and was loaded into car #7427 for the trip from Robinson to the Taylor & Brunton Sampling Mill. The hand written note
on the bottom right of this shipment report notes that the lot was delivered to the Bamburger & McMillian building on
January 14th, 1899, just one day later.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The third document is the Assay and Settlement Report for Lot #143 issued by Bamburger and McMillian to the Mammoth
Mining Company. It shows that the lot was sampled at the Taylor & Brunton Sampling Mill and that two independent assays
were conducted. One by the Union Assay Office, and the other by the W.A. Hodges Assay Office, both of Salt Lake City.
After all of the processing, it was determined that the value of Lot #143, 37,488 pounds,
or 18,744 tons of concentrates, was set at $40.62 per ton, or, $761.38. After deducting $11.69 per ton in treatment charges,
or a total of $219.12, the net payment to the Mammoth Mining Company for this one lot came to $542.26.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
The final report is very detailed, and shows a great deal of information as far as values
and charges, but the bottom line is that nearly 30% of the value was deducted in transportation, processing, assaying, and
other expenses. This was probably very typical for other mining companies as well. The mine owners received just a bit over
70%. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but keep in mind, from that 70% they had to deduct all of the costs of operating the
mine, dividends to the stockholders, if any, and of course, there were taxes to be paid!
Assay office of the Mammoth Mine, Utah - A. Alsteen image
THRP - Winegar Collection
May,
J.L., Assayer
J.L. May, Assayer, Salt Lake City is one of many offices in early Utah mining services. Little
is known of this company and as of yet, I have found no reports or documents from this company. Offices were located on Main
Street over a saloon, which may not be unique, but certainly made an interesting add comment.
John
M. McVicker, Assayer
"Ores carefully assayed. Samples sent
from a distance promptly attended to and returns made the following day. Charges reasonable." This is the simple
yet direct wording of an advertisement for J.M. McVicker in an 1896 booklet published to promote the Utah mining industry.
With offices at 150 South Main Street, he had been in business at least 7 years by the time that ad appeared.
Very few Assay Reports from McVicker are known to us at this time. The upper pair shown
below is the smaller style and date from 1889. The lower pair shown below are the larger style. One made out to Charles Reed,
the other to the King of The West Mining Co.. Both of these also date from 1889.
All of these are signed boldly at the bottom right in McVickers own hand.
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J.B.
Meader, Assayer
One of Utah's earliest Assay providers, in 1876, J.B. Meader operated from offices
and laboratory on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City. This first document, a Certificate of Assay, on Meader's letterhead,
shows results of assay on samples taken from the Utah Sampling Mill.
Meyer
& Wertheimer, Assayers and General Mining Agents
In 1871, Meyer & Wertheimer operated as "Assayers and General
Mining Agents in Ophir City, Utah Territory" Though located in Tooele County, the firm purchased this ad in
the Salt Lake Tribune in the May 17, 1871 issue. The ad was listed in the classifieds section under Assayers, Brokers, Etc..
Little is known of this company. As of yet, I have found no assay slips or documents related to its operation.
UPDATE!
- In September of 2014 I was contacted by Mr. Mickey Roach. He and his wife Liz provided the two great items shown below.
They are an assay certificate and matching postal cover issued by Meyer & Wertheimer Assay Office, Ophir City, Utah. Both
date from about 1873 and are related to results of assay #2647, a lot sample of very rich silver ore. The kind that Ophir
was known for and made famous by.
The certificate details 605.07 Ounces of silver worth
$782.26 to the ton. In today's dollars (roughly $20.00 per ounce), that same result would represent value of more than $12,000.
Thanks Mickey &
Liz for this great contrubution!
THRP Archive - Mickey & Liz Roach Collection
THRP Archive - Mickey & Liz Roach Collection
T.
Molitor & Co., Assayers
In 1871, T. Molitor & Co. operated as Assayers
in Salt Lake City as this ad printed in the Salt Lake Tribune May 10th of that year shows. Little is known of this company.
As of yet, I have found no assay slips or documents related to its operation.
New
Park Mining Company - Assay Office
By 1943 the New Park Mining Company was operating
its own assay office. Sampling lots from each shipment of ore coming out of the mines. This assay showed values in Gold, Silver,
Copper Lead and Zinc.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Newbold & Antisell, Assayers (Stockton, Utah)
One of the earliest and rarest assay certificates
ever found for operations in Utah is this one from the offices of Newbold & Antisell at Stockton, Utah.
The certificate is issued to Mr. C. Morrison, and details that the ore sample submitted for
assay yeilded a whopping 82% lead, and 60.75 ounces of silver per ton. This was extremely rich silver ore. The charge for
this assay was $3.00.
The Assay Certificate
is dated April 25th, 1871.
THRP Archive - Winegar Collection
R.H.
Officer & Co., Assayers
In 1907, R.H. Officer & Company, Assayers
and Chemists did business from offices at 169 South, West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City.
One advertisement for the firm stater: "Laboratory fitted with Electric Power Crusher
and Grinder and every facility for making samples on lots up to 500 pounds." The ad went on to "We make
Cyanide, or MacArthur-Forrest Leaching Tests, Chlorination Tests, and Amalgamation Assays."
Little more is known of this firm.
The slip below is one of only two documents from this company we have found so far.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This second document is also an assay sheet
profiling ore samples from the Harris Tunnel and Raise No.10 of properties belonging to the Bully Boy Mines Corporation near
Marysvale, Utah. Both assays show values in gold, silver and lead.
This sample dates from 1922.
THRP Archive - Geff Pollock Collection
This next item from R.H. Officer & Company is a very detailed report prepared for C.W.McCornick
and the Tesora Mining Company. The results and locations of 32 separate samples from the workings in the Alaska mine, Tintic
District.
The report dates from November of 1901.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Another style certificate from the Officer company dealing with another sample from the Alaska
Mining Company. This one, from much later than the previous samples, dates from 1919.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Ohio Copper Company Assay Office (Lark, Utah)
Below are two pages from the Ohio Copper Company
Assay Office at Lark, Utah, yet they have nothing to do with assay results. They are an inventory of items lost in the fire
that destroyed the assay office on December 10, 1914.
I include the inventory sheets because they provide a very detailed listing of the material and equiment that
could be found in a well equipped office of that time; glassware, balances, chemicals, screens, mallets, crucibles, assay
report sheets, and dozens of other items. The total loss of items in the shop came to $616.86. That number does not include
the value of the structure though. So far I have not been able to find any reports detailing that amount.
THRP Archive - Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Winegar Collection
Ontario
Silver Mining Company - Assay Office
Below are three very rare documents from the
Ontario Silver Mining Compay of Park City, Utah. Though not from the early days of this mine, nonetheless, they each tell
a story of day to day work and the results of that effort. The first two are Assay Certificates, the third, a Assay Summary
sheet. All three documents date from 1907.
It
is worth noting that the first two documents are signed by F. J. Hanauer.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
These next two certificates from the Assay
Office of the Ontario Silver Mining Company, but the are not for samples from the Ontario. These two certificates detail results
for a number of properties in the Clifton Mining District at Gold Hill, Utah. Assays include samples from the Maryan, Maryellen,
Ada Lula. Lilly. Lost Cabin, Commercial, Bank, and Ellen workings.
Both certificates are signed by J. Wycoff, assayer for the Ontario. The cerfificates
date from 1928.
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
THRP Archive - Kirk Collection
Park City Sampling Mill (Park City, Utah)
The Park City Sampling Mill operated for a number
of years sampling ore from a number of area mines. In this sample, we have a Weight and Moisture Certificate for mill concentrates
from the Daly-West Mining Company en-route to the American Smelting & Refining Company plant in Pueblo, Colorado.
It was common practice to estimate the total value of a lot based on assays as well as moisture
percentage. This "Net" weight is what was used to calculate the value. In this sample, The Daly-West mill estimated
the Net weight of the first line item at 63,250 pounds. The mill at Pueblo calculated the net weight at 62,820 pounds.
It was not uncommon for these numbers to differ, and usually with the net weight getting
lower. This is not surprising as the total fee paid for the lot was based in part on this moisture cacluation. The less weight,
the less paid out to the mining company. It was just how things were done.
It is worth noting that this certificate is signed by noted mining man R. Macintosh.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Paxman,
George A., Assayer
Below are two samples of very rare Assay Certificates from George A. Paxman, Assayer, of
Silver City, Utah. Paxman operated from a small office in the heart of the town. These certificates, both for the Alaska Mining
Company near the town.
Both documents are hand signed by Mr.
Paxman and date from 1902.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Pioneer
Assay Office
The Pioneer Assay Office was operating in Salt
Lake City in 1871 according to this simple add listed in the very first issue of The Salt Lake Daily Tribune & Mining
Gazette on April 15th. of that year. Offices were located in the Reid's Building on East Temple Street.
Pioneer
Ore Sampling Mill and Assay Office
The Pioneer Ore Sampling House and Assay Office
was located in the Salt Lake Valley at what was then known as Sandy Station and today called Sandy City. The offices were
located near the junction where the roads and rails coming out of Little Cottonwood Canyon traveling east and west, met the
mainline of the north south railway running the length of the Salt Lake Valley.
The Pioneer sampled and assayed ore and concentrates from hundreds of mines and was one of
the more prominent sampling houses of its time.
This Certificate also deals with the Joab Lawrence Mining Companies Lot #205, 36,020 pounds of 2nd Class
Ore, mentioned earlier in our profiles. It details that according to their sampling, the lot contained 4 and 6/10% moisture.
Moisture content was critical in evaluating the true value of the lot in later steps of processing.
The document is very nice in its design and is a great example of a Pioneer Ore Sampling
document.
last, but not
least, the document is boldly signed by R. Macintosh, another well known Utah mining man, and someone who will be profiled
briefly in another section of this site.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Below is an ad for the Pioneer Sampling Mill run in local papers in Salt
Lake City.
Quincy
Mining Company
Below is the only example I have been able to
locate of an assay certificate of ore from the Quincy mine near Park City, Utah. The sample was processed at the assay office
of the nearby Daly West Mining Company. Three samples from three locations in the mine showed values in lead and silver.
The certificate is unsigned, but dated October 6th, 1902.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Sanders
& Sprague Assayers
In 1874, H.S. Sanders
& J. W. Sprague operated as Assayers in downtown Salt Lake City in offices "two doors south of the Wells, Fargo
& Company". (The exact address is not yet known, but I'm still looking.) This ad, placed in the the
January 1, 1874 Salt Lake Tribune listed "Ores carefully assayed. Samples sent from a distance promptly attended
to and returns made the day following." as a part of their services. The ad was listed in the classifieds section
under Assayers, Brokers, Etc.. Little is known of this company. As of yet, I have found no assay slips or documents related
to this firm.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
An almost identical ad appeared in the same paper the following year.
This one, from April of 1875, showed the partnership sill in place and services sill being provided.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Sheep Rock Leasing Company, Assay Office (Beaver, Utah)
Like many Utah companies, The Sheep Rock Leasing
Company operated its own in-house assay office. Very few documents survive from this shop, and I am happy to have located
one to share with you. This certificate dates from 1913 and is hand signed by the company assayer, whos name I can't quite
make out. I'll have to do some research.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Shields & Jones Assay Office (Denver, Colorado)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
W.
G. M. Steward, Assayer
W. G. M. Steward, Assayer, operated from offices
in Salt Lake City, Utah. Little is known of this particular service provider. From the slip shown below, it is clear that
he operated at the turn of the century, and most likely assayed material from a number of Utah properties, but everything
in the THRP ARCHIVES shows assay work for only the Mammoth Mining Company, Mammoth, Utah, Tintic Mining District, Juab County,
Utah.
The Certificate of Assay shown
below is dated April, 1899. It references Lot #160 from the Mammoth mine, and shows that it was sampled at the Taylor &
Brunton Sampling mill. The lot, some 69,000+ pounds or 34.5 tons, based on samples, assayed out per ton at: 25.8% Lead, 46.4
Ozs. Silver, .60 Ozs. Gold, and 2.4% Copper.
The
certificate is signed at the bottom by Steward personally.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Stringer, Thomas M., Assayer (Park City, Utah)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Swan,
G.C., Assayer
Below is the front and reverse of the only Assay
Certificate I have located thus far that is signed by G.C. Swan. It is a hand written document on plain paper that does not
list the name of the property being sampled. It is not dated, but most likely dates from around 1900.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Taylor
& Brunton Ore Sampling Co.
The Taylor & Brunton Ore Sampling Company
was one of the largest in and well known sampling houses in Utah. This certificate, a Weight and Moisture Certificate, provides
information relating to Lot #143, 42,600 pounds of dry concentrates from the Mammoth Mining Company, Mammoth, Utah, Tintic
Mining District.
The certificate,
dated January 17th, 1899, the certificate states that the 42,600 pounds of concentrates contained fully 12% or 5,112 pounds
of moisture content. A fairly large amount compared to most of the certificates we have shown thus far. That much moisture,
meant that there was only 37,488 pounds that would be used in calculating the value of the lot.
The certificate is signed, but the signature is not legible. It appears to be J. W. something,
but this is just a guess.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Taylor & Brunton Sampling Works (Aspen, Colorado)
Though the documents shown below are from the
Aspen, Colorado mill, Taylor and Brunton operated a number of sampling works in Utah. Most likely, they too used larger summary
sheets such as these for documenting Utah mining company sample results, though I have not been able to locate any so far.
These two document detail lots
from the Mineral Farm Consolidaded Mining Company of Aspen. Having said that, these sheets came from a family archive of one
of the owners of the mine, a family that lived in American Fork, Utah.
The assay sheets date from 1896.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Tintic
Milling Company
Below is a sample from the Tintic Milling Company
at Silver City, Utah. This detailed report shows values for samples from the Johnson-Greene Lease of the Minnie Moore Mining
Company. As you can see from the certificate, the lot was worthless. It cost more to process the sample than the sample was
worth.
This sample and
certificate date from July 21, 1919.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Tramps Consolidated Mining Company,
Assay Office (Nevada)
The Tramps Consolidated Assay Office was located
near the mine of the same name near Bullfrog, Nye County, Nevada. In this case they are sampling material from the Keystone
Mining Company, possibly the Keystone of Park City, Utah, but there is no way to know. What is known is this; the certificate
dates from December of 1906, and the material samples was not very high quality ore. Also known is the assayer's name. The
certificate is signed by George Henderson.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Tremayne,
W.H., Assayer
In 1909, W. H. Tremayne, Assayer, operated from
offices at 140 South Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City. A simple advertisement for the company read "Mail samples
receive prompt attention." Little is known of this operator, But I have been lucky enough to come across this one certificate
from 1907 for samples taken at the Old Evergreen Mining property in Big Cottonwood Canyon near present day Brighton. This
certificate dates from September of 1907.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Union
Assay Office
In 1907, the Union Assay Office, Assayers and
Chemists, operated from offices at 152 South, West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City. The company was operated by partners
M.S. Hanauer and J.V. Sadler.
Below is a small
assay certificate issued by the Union Assay Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. The certificate lists the findings of Mammoth
Mining Company's Dry Concentrates Lot #143. Results of the sample assay show values per ton of: 4.5% Lead, 44.5 Ozs. Silver,
.82 Ozs. Gold, 21.7% Iron, 1.3% Sulphur, among other findings.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
If
those assay results held true, the lot of 42,600 pounds, or 21.3 tons of ore concentrates would yield more that 940 Ozs. of
Silver and 17 Ozs. of Gold among other values.
The
certificate is dated January 17th, 1899 and is signed personally by M.S. Hanauer, Assayer, partner in the firm.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
This second item is another assay certificate from the Union offices. This one, sampling ore from the Utah Gold
Company, Kelton, Utah, shows only trace amounts of gold, and little more than trace amounts of silver. The certificate dates
fom 1913 and is signed by J.V. Sadler, Vice-President of the company.
Below is the third item from the Union Assay
Office, a different style certificate also signed by M.S. Hanauer. This certificate reports on a hand sample from the Alaska
Mine in the Tintic District.
The certificate
dates from 1902.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Utah
Ore Sampling Company
A certificate from the Utah Ore Sampling Company
at Murray, Utah. The company operated in conjuction with the great smelters at Murray, though they sampled material from all
over the mountain west.
This certificate dates from 1912.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Utah
Sampling Mill
Below find a assay sampling slip addressed to J. B. Meader, from J. C. Conklin and the Utah
Sampling Mill.
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Von Schulz and Lowe Assay Office (Denver, Colorado)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Walker, H.G., Assayer (Lovelock, Nevada)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Wood, Henry E.,& Company, Assayers (Denver, Colorado)
THRP Archive - Don & Shauna Winegar Collection
Woodhull
Brothers, Assayers
The Woodhull Brothers operated in Salt Lake
City sampling, buying and brokering ore and bullion in 1871 according to this simple add listed in the very first issue of
The Salt Lake Daily Tribune & Mining Gazette on April 15th. of that year. No location of the office is given.
_____________________
Assay works of the Ontario Mine, Park City, Utah. Shippler Photo.
Courtesy Utah State Historical Society
Assay works of the Ontario Mine, Park City, Utah. Shippler Photo.
Courtesy Utah State Historical Society
